#Village Assistant

[serpentface]

A witch of the Naig-Troibadnnas (Yellowtail river valley) people, resting and enjoying a smoke of the mild stimulant brolge leaf on a hot summer day.

Witches are a small part of the everyday cultural framework among the Hill Tribes. They are individuals considered born possessed by a virgranul, a type of disembodied wild spirit that seeks to inhabit human flesh, either entering the body at the moment of conception, or entering the body at the moment of death. The latter is a dire circumstance that requires significant intercession to fix (the dead body may wander off without rites, leaving the person's soul trapped and liable to warp into the dangerous fuldaigh spirit), while the former circumstance is what causes a person to be born a witch.

In the case of those afflicted in the womb, possession by virgranul is lifelong, and is both a curse and blessing- it divides and isolates them from the human world and causes other wild spirits (both benevolent and malicious) to be perpetually drawn to them, but also allows for them to be attuned to the subtleties of spirits, and able to work magic and divination that the everyday person is incapable of.

Witches are usually recognized from a young age due to marked behavioral differences or atypical development, though are sometimes simply identified as such without obvious behavioral indications, by other witches having read signs of their coming. Their occurrence is not frequent, usually once in a generation for any given tribe. An identified witch child will be taken from their family (the timing varies by tradition, though is usually upon puberty) and into mentorship by an established witch, who will impart their accumulated knowledge and skill and teach the child how to best harness their condition.

One can be a witch regardless of their gender, with the only commonality being that they must remain unmarried, and are expected to never have children (deemed too dangerous, unavoidably placing a child in the path of potentially harmful wild spirits). With no spouses or children to support them in holding a household and herds, witches are instead supported by their communities as means of payment for their services. They typically live in semi-isolation in the boundaries between the village and wilderness (a reflection of their own division between the world of people and of wild spirits, and a protective measure for their communities), and will periodically be brought needed supplies. They do not commonly enter villages unless summoned, or for the sake of certain holidays and festivals, and live most of their lives in seclusion aside from any given mentee (who will in turn care for their mentor in old age).

The societal function of witches is as intermediaries between people and their ancestors, people and wild spirits, and as especially skilled performers of practical magic (most commonly weaving protective spells into worn items, such as clothing or the nose rings of cattle). Forms of practical magic and intercession with ancestors and spirits are performed by all members of society, but a witch has intimate, detailed knowledge of such things and tremendous natural skill that makes them an invaluable asset.

Witches personally discern the identities of the spirits living in any given area and will attempt to familiarize themselves with them, learning in depth about their ways, giving warnings of where the particularly dangerous (or mischievous) ones are, and giving recommendations on which will be receptive to offerings in return for boons. When a village needs to commune with a particularly powerful or dangerous spirit (such as a wildfolk witch), they will commonly send their own witch as an intermediary.

They are ascribed have the ability to directly summon ancestors (who otherwise come and go of their own volition, and rarely ever deign to come at the call of one who is not their descendant). This is of great use when a person finds themselves punished by their ancestors with no certainty as to why, or cases where an orphaned child's ancestry must be identified to gain them proper spiritual support.

They are also regarded as having innate qualities of divination, particularly in reading birdsign (itself generally acknowledged as communication from ancestors, and occasionally gods). The average person has basic knowledge in reading omens of birds and a learned repertoire of key signs, but a witch can divine the messages of birdsign in immense and specific detail, through a vast knowledge system of the meanings of the species, sex, flight direction, gaze, prey, number, and songs of birds. It is common for people to approach a witch for a reading of the skies before undertaking a significant venture or life change, in order to receive detailed and specific advice.

Witches are always literate (and will be taught to read and write by their mentor if they cannot already) and will record their repositories of knowledge in tomes. These are items of absolute secrecy and taboo for a non-witch to touch (the consequences can be severe, you really don't want a witch ancestor-spirit upset with you). Witches can often become competitive about the knowledge stored in these tomes and are known to organize heists amongst themselves in order to gain access to each other's secrets. Most people avoid getting themselves entangled into the complicated rivalries of witches, as these competitions can get ugly and result in many a petty curse if one gains a witch's ire.

---

The only visual cue distinguishing this man as a witch is the tattoos on his forearms, otherwise usually regarded as inappropriate to mark in the contemporary Hill Tribes cultural sphere (the face, upper arms, and sternum is reserved for important clan/tribe/ancestry identification, hands and forearms are reserved for witches, and the rest of the body is appropriate for decoration). These unique forearm tattoos indicate his ancestral connection with a lineage of witches, not blood ancestry but rather the generations of mentors that have produced him. The lines extending down to his fingers are the newest, indicating that he has fully mentored another witch and gained a place in this ancestral line.

The rest of the tattoos here are tribe and blood ancestry identifiers (on the face and upper arms respectively, worn by all members of society), and purely decorative imagery (visible here is a deer, horse, eagle, and a dragon). He also has a snake on his forearm, applied decades ago in an act of youthful rebellion, which has since gotten in the way of critical open skin space.

His clothing is otherwise typical wear for warm seasonal conditions- a man's wool shawl and woven belt, short trousers, decorative deer hide (distinct to the Naig-Troibadnnas), and sandals (these are imported Wardi style sandals, which have been modified with preferred elevated heels). The horn shaped torc on his forearm identifies him as an esteemed elder.

[booplesnotts-art]

I don’t think those two would trust each other at all but manhandling corpses is sure easier with two 😂

AHDISJSJS I LOVE THEM SM AHHHH

Lucille is no good as a cook but she sure is good at slicing and dicing- that is her one use in a kitchen. She (reluctantly) would agree to work with Maria because yes, manhandling a corpse is indeed easier with two. Teamwork !!🥰🥰

I think they would have maybe just a little mutual respect for each other because they both butcher bodies; Lucille does that and Maria cooks them because Lucille is a horrid chef.

I also think Lucille would also agree that some people would be better as a stew

[thegamingcatmom]

GUYS OKAY-

I KNOW I said gimme those Resi Village asks and to anyone who´s indeed sent me one: I APOLOGIZE FOR THE WAIT.

But, you see, I´m actually in the middle of answering one and I have been for the past two days because it kinda turned into smt way bigger than I thought it would.

Anyway-

That one´s probs gonna be part 1 of my planned series of "Life as Birb Momma´s housewi-I mean assistant" or smt. The name isn´t set yet...

ANYWAY-

I´m probs gonna post the ask today and then tweak it some so I can move it over to ao3. With that said:

Mother Miranda expects your attendance.

HOPE TO SEE YALL THERE. 🐦‍⬛🖤

[skycotl-before-and-after]

Update: They fixed it within a couple hours.

Before fix:

After fix:

First day of Season of Nesting and we can’t even do the first task. 🙄 Game froze too.

I barely remember the first task in beta, but I would remember if I were unable to complete it. It worked fine. (You needed to be able to buy something to complete decorating the Season Guide’s shared space)

Another problem I noticed is some tasks required friends to be online, and in a certain location. Similar to the Passage of Assistance(?) in the Season of Passage, you needed others online and cooperating to complete tasks. Unlike that season, they had to be friends, and we shouldn’t have to coordinate over Discord or other apps to manage it.

Beta has a lot fewer players, so I only made it about a quarter of the way through the season because no one was ever available to help me complete a quest, and one task that didn’t require others would never register my progress. I imagine this is what PC moths will experience, since they’re so new and most likely have very few friends.

[l35213]

pre canon doodles i did. as a treat

[antihibikase-archive]

The Witch, Lady Nikola Cogita.

A peculiar woman hailing from a secret village in Kalos, rumored to be found in a deep forest south of Snowbelle City. People say that she has been reported to be immortal, as she shows in photographs and accounts throughout history- but nothing is confirmed.

Her current residence is unknown, as she is a frequent traveler. She is never seen without her beloved Pidove perched on her head or shoulder, who she fondly refers to as "her little dove".

Her Indeedee are dutiful Pokemon who carry her things or open doors for her, while her Gardevoir and Gallade act as bodyguards. Her last Pokemon, a strange Pokemon only seen in old books, acts as her steed.

[youngpettyqueen]

once again thinking about the post-canon dynamics on DS9

[pomellon]

I might have had a very self-indulgent Funzwastaken au idea, that basically a modern fantasy stardew valley/dragon trainers type of setting. Might have to put it into my “potential aus” list, will slap my thoughts for it in the tags for now

[bitchdafuqyousay]

babe wake up it’s missing ethan winters o’clock

[ranger-kellyn]

listening to how far i'll go from moana and thinking about suki and i'm. experiencing an emotion

[fightaers]

❛⠀i've always heard suna's alcohol is infused with its own spices. is that true ? ❜

@desertgourd ♡'d starter call !

[siena-sevenwits]

.

[comingoutofthecauldron]

i got a new job all is right with the world

[thepikachusorcerer]

I had an old au no disbarment au in which kristoph gets the turnabout succession case except everything happens exactly the same and for some reason kristoph keeps Trucy, ig to keep up appearances or whatever and Klav and Trucy are horrible showbiz siblings. she's a vocalist for the gavinners and they incorporate stage magic more into their shows. and she gets a purple motif like his. do you see the vision

[rhulyon]

Probably a bad rpg idea: the players have entered a village to investigate some weird robin encounters. They find that the bartender is two goblins in a trenchcoat. In fact everyone else in the town are goblins in a trenchcoat. They discovered that human shiny money can be easily "stolen" if they are "lured" with goods and services. But now that they have been discovered they have become hostile towards the party in fear they dismantle the "scam". The objective: scape from this "fake" town alive.

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